Fleet Week

I had the privilege of watching the ships come in last week, and managed to get some pictures in the process.  I was down by Shore Promenade,  in Brooklyn.  The ships came in to my left and made their way towards Manhattan.  The first ship was the Iwo Jima.

The largest one that I saw, the guys were out on the deck in full dress uniforms.

There was also the 343, the newest FDNY fireboat, which has steel from the World Trade Center in the name of the boat on the bow, and had plumes of red and blue water coming from it.  It was welcoming the ships by the Staten Island side of the Verrazano Bridge.

This fire boat is 140 feet long, and can pump 50,000 gallons of water a minute, which is double the capacity of the previous boat, the John D. McKean.  The McKean responded to the 9/11 attacks, since the attack left the hydrants in the downtown area useless.  The 343 will start active duty in July retiring the McKean which is currently being used by the FDNY.

The rest of my pictures can be found here.